Light caster

[Rod Fisher]

From the link you sent regarding an old post concerning the lucky strike JOC said that he had seen one and another forum member wrote that someone reliable had also seen one many years before in a tackle shop?

That part of the convo was about the "black label wizard"

I’m not sure the lucky strike can be disregarded because of the handle and furniture because it isn’t completely impossible that the Rod had had a complete makeover?

What I am saying is though, is that the light caster I have has what would appear the same lable other than the name of the Rod and that the one I have the wording ( light caster ) hasn’t been written on the label, it is actually part of the labels print?

I’ve added a few more pictures… in them you can see certain parts of the furniture is green which would suggest to me that the fittings are brass? Again maybe you can put me straight on this.

Yes the furniture looks like brass, and the Lucky Strike looks (other than the label) consistent with some other Lucky Strikes.

I'm not sure how you can tell that the script is part of the print. It looks like it's been added by hand in Indian ink (or similar), from the varying thickness of the strokes, then varnished over. It doesn't look like the professional style that Allcocks would print onto a label, but it could be the hand of the rod maker (or a restorer that had some blank labels knocked up).

[Nobby]

This is probably a way of creating transfers that can be adapted to any rod model post-war. Allcocks had a real problem getting tackle manufacturing going again with soldiers kept on in Germany and other territories for many years after 1945. It follows that others struggled too and complicated transfers might not have been possible.

What the war had done was get aluminium manufacturing off the ground and post war Allcock and others quickly went over the aluminium reel mounts. I'm not aware of any rods being made post war with brass reel bands.

If we take the the Guides at face value it's hard to see why the Lucky Strike would have these interim adaptable transfers though...unless the rod was made sooner than the Guides suggest. They are not infallible...the poor Lucky Strike had its images changed to a Holdwell eventually!


This is another of those questions we should have asked of Tony Croft whilst he was still with us...........

[Rod Fisher]

What the war had done was get aluminium manufacturing off the ground and post was Allcock and others quickly went over the aluminium reel mounts. I'm not aware of any rods being made post war with brass reel bands.

Sinjun's Lucky Strike has a sheet cork handle and brass reel bands. John Moore has one with all brass furniture and spigot ferrules [link]. Both have gold oval labels.
Early Wizards have brass reel bands too.

[Rod Fisher]

They are not infallible...the poor Lucky Strike had its images changed to a Holdwell eventually!

I believe it was the Record Breaker and the Holdwell, no?

[Nobby]

They are not infallible...the poor Lucky Strike had its images changed to a Holdwell eventually!

I believe it was the Record Breaker and the Holdwell, no?

Indeed it was. The Lucky Strike shares the page with them but is never illustrated.

The images stay in place but the names of the rods first moves in 1956. When the Holdwell moves to a different page in 1961 its image stays behind with the Record Breaker. The error persists through 1962 and '63 Guides. There is no image of the the Record Breaker at all in 1965 and 1967 when it was seemingly discontinued.

I have however, seen a Record Breaker Deluxe which is uncatalogued but is in the post -merger colours.

[Nobby]

I've just gone through all my Guides and the thought that the screw reel fitting is post war is wrong! It has brass reel bands in 1934 but the screw one is illustrated in the 1936 Guide.

This changes things a bit ...if the rod has a gold oval and a screw down reel clamp this version of the gold oval has to be pre-war.

Allcock used different labels on different rods pre-war, maybe the fist gold oval was an idea to suit several rods but was replaced post war by the gold oval with red letters on all Allcock rods?


There is an image on the net of a Lucky Strike with a gold oval and a hand written rod name on it, just like Chelsea's rod. This is a bit of an anomaly since it appears to be using a transfer discontinued in 1939 when rod making is thought to have ceased.

According to John Ollif-Cooper the Lucky Strike has 'been around since the late thirties'...........https://www.fishingmagic.com/the-lucky-strike/

[Rod Fisher]

I've just gone through all my Guides and the thought that the screw reel fitting is post war is wrong! It has brass reel bands in 1934 but the screw one is illustrated in the 1936 Guide.

This changes things a bit ...if the rod has a gold oval and a screw down reel clamp this version of the gold oval has to be pre-war.

Nobody said the screw fitting started post war. It started pre-war. Only the very earliest Light Casters had sliding reel bands.

Why does gold oval and screw down reel clamp mean it has to be pre-war? Your logic is flawed. They just carried on using the screw-down reel fitting post war, and added the gold oval.

There is an image on the net of a Lucky Strike with a gold oval and a hand written rod name on it, just like Chelsea's rod. This is a bit of an anomaly since it appears to be using a transfer discontinued in 1939 when rod making is thought to have ceased.

This one on inthenetuk? Yes, we have been talking about that rod for the past day or so. It has a fairly standard post-war gold oval that just hasn't got a printed rod name on it. Why would it be pre-war? What transfer was discontinued in 1939?

According to John Ollif-Cooper the Lucky Strike has 'been around since the late thirties'...........https://www.fishingmagic.com/the-lucky-strike/

We know better than to take JOC's word for things - he has never let the truth get in the way of a good story. They already had the Melody, the Sapper (roach), and the coarse version of the Popular - all 10' 6" built cane float rods. They had no need of adding the Lucky Strike. Most likely, the pattern for one of them became the Lucky Strike.

Some of those early Lucky Strikes, like the one in JOC's article appear to have composite cork shive handles, which is a little odd.

[Chelsea]

Does anyone know the year the brass furniture changed? Excluding the brass reel bands.

[Rod Fisher]

Does anyone know the year the brass furniture changed? Excluding the brass reel bands.

Anyone that gives you an answer is probably going to be best-guessing. My best guess would be early 50s.

The Wizard is described as having bronzed reel fittings in the 1956 Guide, and aluminium reel fittings in the 1959 Guide. Same with the Record Breaker.

[Chelsea]

Thanks, Rod Fisher